Early in “The Brothers Size,” I stopped trying to analyze why this play felt so alive. Instead I just trusted my emotions, and that made this production, at Luna Stage in West Orange, still more satisfying. Indeed, it’s easy to list the show’s qualities: an outstanding cast, a powerful script, smart staging. What’s harder is describing its magic.

The story follows the two African-American brothers of the title, Ogun and Oshoosi Size, in and around Ogun’s auto repair shop near a Louisiana bayou. Oshoosi is recently paroled from prison, and a shared history binds the two men together, as does a hard-earned love, which has its frictions.

“I been home but two, three months,” Oshoosi says. “In that time I swear you ain’t let me forget once that I, at one time, was not free.” He adds, “I got enough memories to wash out without you putting in a fresh supply every five minutes.”

Elegba, Oshoosi’s friend and former prison mate, arrives with a whiff of trouble about him. Ogun is wary of the man, and that suspicion may or may not prove valid as Elegba and Oshoosi begin spending time together.

The script, by Tarell Alvin McCraney, has had several productions around the country, notably in 2009 at the McCarter Theater in Princeton and later that year at the Public Theater in New York, when it was presented as part of Mr. McCraney’s trilogy, “The Brother/Sister Plays.” Those works share some of the same characters, though each can stand alone.

“Brothers” is poetic yet unpretentious throughout its 80 minutes; it’s no surprise to learn that as a student Mr. McCraney worked with the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. The story, though serious, is also playful, with stage directions sometimes read aloud by the actors, and the humor is genuine and unforced. While the work isn’t flawless — the underlying plot is fairly standard, and a tighter ending in both script and performance would be welcome — it nonetheless feels fresh.

It’s intriguing to contrast it with the previous show I saw at Luna, “Lines in the Dust.” That play, while sincere, sought to elicit sympathy through speeches and explanations. “Brothers,” on the other hand, uses sharp dialogue that is far more effective. Certainly, not every play need be terse; a chatty script can have its own rich rewards. But the starkness of “Brothers” highlights Mr. McCraney’s focused writing and his confidence in actors to deliver the lines while also savoring the silences.

This cast deserves that confidence. Watching Brandon Carter, as Ogun, both regard his brother and chastise him is to see a bittersweet fusion of affection and disappointment. A late scene in which he recounts their childhoods is among the play’s best and is flawlessly performed.

Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid also skillfully handles a range of feelings as Oshoosi, a man who is angry at the past yet hopeful for the future. Oshoosi is given the bulk of the humor, and Mr. Abdul-Hamid deftly uses those moments to break the tension.

Clinton Lowe, as Elegba, holds the right hint of menace, and his showdown with Ogun, when he recounts his time in prison with Oshoosi, is a powerhouse of a scene that’s beautiful and heartbreaking.

“He cry out and he’ll he make us all miss our brothers, the ones we ain’t never even have,” Elegba says, recalling Oshoosi’s breakdown, when he wept and pleaded to see Ogun, who never visited. “All the jailhouse quiet, the guards stop like a funeral coming down the halls in respect, respect of this man mourning the loss of his brother.”

The three are directed by Christopher Burris, who has a solid grasp of the writer’s strengths, as do the set designers, Christopher and Justin Swader, and the lighting designer, Daisy Long. Together they foster a perceptive and minimalist staging that concentrates the story’s power rather than dispersing it with distractions.

While “The Brothers Size” here and there looks to the mythic at the expense of the dramatic (Mr. McCraney has said he was partly inspired by African folk tales), it remains a live wire of a play, in a production that’s very often exciting. Sure, you can see its power onstage. But better than that, you can feel it in your bones.

“The Brothers Size” is at Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, through March 6. Information: 973-395-5551 or lunastage.org.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page NJ9 of the New York edition with the headline: Two Reunions, Bittersweet and Foreboding. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe